Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Fife’s Letham Nights nominated for Scots Trad Music Award 2023

With voting open, will you help the Fife club night win club of the year?

Dundee musician Robbie Ward at Letham Nights. Image:  Sam Ingram-Sills
Dundee musician Robbie Ward at Letham Nights. Image: Sam Ingram-Sills

A club night that aims to bring the best small gigs in the world to a village hall near Cupar has been nominated for club of the year at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards 2023.

Letham Nights will find out if it’s won the category when the glittering awards ceremony is held at Dundee’s Caird Hall on Saturday December 2.

Voting is live and closes on November 19.

Drummer’s eye view of Letham Nights. Image: Sam Ingram-Sills

Chairman of Letham Nights, Michael Farrell, told The Courier they were the only Fife candidate in the best club category and they hoped Fifers would lend their support by voting.

Why was Letham Nights set up?

“Letham Nights was set up in 2009 by a group of volunteer music enthusiasts in Letham who set out to provide our community with high quality music whilst also campaigning for a zero carbon hall,” said Michael

“We saw it as following in the footsteps of Jimmy Shand who loved playing at Letham Hall, but bringing a different mix of music as well as an environmental purpose.

“After 14 years of bringing some amazing acts to the hall we have a strong reputation across Fife and beyond for what we do.

“We have been a little less successful with the zero carbon aim, only scratching the surface by supporting the hall to install double glazing and insulation.

“However, we now have a plan to work with the hall committee to give the hall a cosy and stylish new outfit of insulation for its 70th birthday in 2025 and we are currently looking for funding to make this happen.”

Letham Nights was discussed over a dram

Michael explained how 14 years ago, he and fellow founders sat over a dram and came up with the idea for Letham Nights.

While they quickly realised that the money made from music has to go back to the musicians, the zero-carbon mission went on the renewable back burner and they concentrated on building a beautiful music-loving community with an appreciative, listening all-ages audience of neighbours, friends and family.

The audience love a boogie at Letham Nights. Image: Sam Ingram-Sills

When asked what their highlight had been over the years, Michael said they chose the moment when a parent reported that their pre-school children were found playing ‘Letham Nights’ at home with the bunk beds as makeshift stage lit with bedside lamps, toy instruments, chairs for the audience and cardboard boxes for speakers!

“Our team of dedicated volunteers from within the local community, work to curate an innovative annual programme of shows – sometimes collaborating with dance artists and film-makers – and since 2009 – have used their diverse talents to put on gigs to showcase the talents of almost 150 acts ranging from our neighbours and friends to national treasures like Breabach, King Creosote, Saltfishforty and Rachel Sermanni,” said Michael.

How to vote for Letham Nights?

Letham Nights can be voted for until November 19 via https://projects.handsupfortrad.scot/scotstradmusicawards/mg-alba-scots-trad-music-awards-2023-letham-nights/  or here.

Conversation